You're My Princess, Kagome
by twagirl
Summary: AUfic. Kagome's moved to a new town with hopes of a new start. She interviews for a job at a theme park as a janitor, but uhoh, she's put on the entertainment crew!Good news, it pays more. Bad news, she has NO TALENT! Updated on Saturdays now!Sorry:School
1. Chapter 1

**REI'S CORNER: **Hello and welcome all to You're My Princess, Kagome! I'd like to thank all of my loyal reviewers who read all of my stories and who have decided to pick up and read this one.

I got the inspiration to write this story when I visited Disney World in the spring time. But it has nothing to do with Disney World, and I don't think that it has any relation to the place. It _is_ revolved around a theme park, and the people who work there, yes, but it has NOTHING to do with Disney World. Thank you.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inuyasha.

Chapter One

A small, black car pulled up to the curb. Outside, one could see the sun blazing down onto the street, creating heat waves in every direction.

It was very early in the morning though, so no one was around yet. Just the road, the bus stop, and the huge doors across the street. The huge orange and white doors.

The door to the black car opened and a young woman jolted out. She walked briskly toward the orange doors, her heels clicking against the stone walk-way as she paced through. She had her dark hair tied into a slightly sloppy ponytail that sat atop her head, and she wore light, casual clothes. This woman who walked so quickly had a job to do. This woman was named Kagome.

This was her second job interview after the big move, and after her first failed attempt at snatching a job, and the first electric bill, she hoped to finally gain a way to make money. 'Terre' This was the name of the world behind the orange and white doors. This was her opportunity to keep her new home and all that was in it.

There was a big sign on the door indicating that the job interviews were taking place in the office building just to the right of the large doors. Kagome followed the arrow into the office and sat down near the front where the secretary told her to.

"Now, where is Ms. Higurashi?" a deep voice said.

Kagome stood and walked over to the man, stating her place and shaking his hand. The man then led her into a large room, presumably his personal office. They then took their seats and the interview began.

"How long have you been working, Ms. Higurashi?" he asked.

"Well I haven't exactly done theme parks. But I did work at a local theater when I was in high school."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, sir. I would say that I've cleaned up well."

"Well that's good to know." he smiled.

"I'm sure that I could clean up well here also, sir."

"I'm sure that you could. So I'm guessing that an audition is out of the question due to you skill level, eh?"

Kagome frowned. " An audition? I mean it is up to you sir, but I hardly think that is necessary. I follow orders, I do my job, plain and simple."

"Quite to the point, aren't we?" he asked. Kagome gave a nod in the affirmative.

"I like your style, Higurashi, you're hired."

"Oh, thank you so much sir! I won't let you down!"

"It's quite alright, Ms. Higurashi. Of course we'll start you off with small parts. We'll have you taking it easy until you get used to how things work here. We'll give you a call first thing Monday morning to set up when you should first come in and your salary, etcetera."

They both stood and shook hands once again.

"Thank you sir, I will do my best." she said.

"Of course. Welcome aboard."

Kagome gave him a smile and walked out to return to her car. Her new boss walked over to his secretary's desk and handed her Kagome's portfolio.

"Make a note to call Ms. Higurashi Monday morning and set up a new work schedule. Also, would you please make sure that she gets a locker and all of the necessities to start off."

"Yes, sir. And what department will she be joining?"

"Entertainment." he said.

* * *

'I got the job' Kagome thought. She pulled into her small garage spot and took the stairs up to her apartment. 

Most of it was settled. She only had a few more boxes left to unpack. (Mainly things that she had nowhere to put.) Her new apartment turned out to be a bit smaller than she thought, and she had a shortage of space. Hopefully with this new job, she could save up to get a new apartment.

She turned on her stove and boiled some water for pasta. She thought back to her interview and how quickly it went by. 'And to think, cleaning with Mama has taken me such a long way.' she thought.

Kagome began cleaning houses when she was about four years old. Her mother owned a small cleaning business, and Kagome would love to help out. It started with little things, like picking up trash, and dusting, but by the time she was ten, she was vacuuming and washing walls by herself. Eventually social services got on their case, stating that what Kagome was doing was considered as 'child labor' and she had to stop. But then, as she said in her interview, she was able to get a janitorial job at the local movie theater when she was in high school. She never really made any mistakes, was what her boss told her. And he was right. When you had Kagome Higurashi on your staff, not one, single thing would be left uncleaned.

The phone rang. She jumped at the sudden shrill of her new telephone, but she did not move from her spot. She didn't care who was calling her right now. As a matter of fact, she hadn't cared who had been calling her since she moved there.

She was tired of talking to people. She just wanted to be on her own for a while. That's why she liked to clean. She could just scrub away at the floor, or whatever she was doing, and no one would ever be around. If for some reason there would be completely ignored. No one ever paid attention to the lowly person who was picking up everyone's trash.

That was just how she liked it.

Her water was boiling and she went over and turned off the stove, deciding that she wasn't in the mood for pasta. Instead, she grabbed a cereal bar from the cabinet and went to her bedroom.

The bedroom was spotless. Kagome frowned though, and grabbed a roll of paper towels off of the shelf. Here was her usual routine. She opened the shades to the window and wiped at it until she could see her own reflection clearly, then she proceeded to 'dust' off her small tv and stereo set. (Even though there was no dust in the first place.) Finally, she swept under her medium-sized bed to dispose of any 'dust bunnies'.

When Kagome was finished, she changed into her pajamas and sat on the bed with her cereal bar. 'I wonder if I will ever go through a day without doing that.' she thought.

Yet she already knew the answer to that.

The whole routine started when she was about thirteen years old. Every single night, she would do that. Every night. She never told anyone that she did it, for the fear of being judged or labeled. 'OCD anyone?' But it was just something that she had to do. Many times she tried to stop, but she couldn't. If she didn't do her nightly routine, she didn't sleep. She would be up with a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach, until she did it. She hated the horrible feeling. It was same feeling that she got when she was in school. She _had_ to deal with the feeling at school, but at home, she couldn't deal with it. She needed the horrible feeling to go away. And that's what the cleaning did for her.

Well, that is, until she turned nineteen.

Kagome was a senior in highschool. (She was a year behind due to her late birthday.) And her horrible feeling was the worst of all her years. Sometimes she would have to do her nightly routine twice, or more, just to distinguish the feeling. She didn't know who she was anymore, or where she was headed in life.

And then he showed up.

His name was Hiten.

She met him at her job one wintry day. She was making the Saturday night shift, and that was when it was the worst. Saturday night was when everyone came to the movies. Popcorn on the floor, spilled ketchup and other liquids on the floors and walls, you name it. Kagome was prepared for a long, peaceful night to herself.

She had her broom and dustpan ready, and she was in theater nine. It was easy to remember the theater number because some immature teenagers had stuck gum on the outline of the actual nine, on the sign. And she had to pick it off.

She was trying her best to mop Mountain Dew up off of the floor, when the doors to the theater opened and a tall, dark-haired young man walked in. He stopped when he caught sight of her, and she looked up at him.

"This theater is closed for cleaning. Wait for thirty minutes before coming back." she told him.

The guy scoffed and took some strides down the aisles, until he was right next to her.

"Actually, I left my wallet in here. Have you seen it? I was sitting just around here."

Kagome only shook her head and went back to her mopping the sticky mess off of the floor. She simply ignored the other person as he began searching through the chairs. He was there for around ten minutes, and Kagome was beginning to get annoyed. This guy was ruining her peace and quiet!

"My name's Hiten." the guy said out of nowhere.

Kagome stopped. Why was he talking to her? She was only there to clean. She started getting nervous, and she moved to another end of the cinema and began to sweep potato chips from the seats.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Shouldn't you be looking for your wallet?" Kagome replied.

The guy who called himself Hiten scoffed and made his way back up the aisles and to the exit. "If you find it, let me know." he told her, and then he left.

Kagome didn't know what had happened, but she simply busied herself with her job. Yet, that night, she forgot to dust under the bed. And she slept fine.

The following week, Hiten showed up again, stating that he was still looking gor his wallet. He did the same thing that he had done before, and he came back the next week. And the next week, and the next one, and so on.

Kagome was beginning to get accustomed to him showing up. Sooner or later she found out all about him. She learned that they went to the same school, and that they were the same age. He was a member of the drama club, and he tutored after school on Wednesdays. He told her all of this, but she never told him anything about herself. He would just come in, talk to her, look for that wallet, and then leave. She never even told him her name, and she rarely saw him at school. They were almost like secret friends, yet he knew nothing about her.

That is, until one day at school. Kagome was cleaning out her locker, and Hiten came around the corner. He smiled at her. That was something that he did do often whenever they did cross paths in the large school building. But kagome never acknowledged it. That was why this time she was shocked to find herself smiling back at him for some reason. He also seemed shocked at her action.

He then waved at her slightly. And even more shocking, she waved back at him.

That very day he sought her out after school, just before she left for work. She was re-stocking her locker for the next day. He appeared, almost out of nowhere, leaning against the locker next to hers.

"So what's your name?" Hiten asked nonchalantly.

And that time, Kagome answered.

Then he asked her out.

And she said yes.

See, up until then, she never noticed that he was so tall, around six-foot. He had this tanned skin that matched hers, and behind thin, brown glasses, he had amazing blue eyes. Never in her life had Kagome been attracted to anyone in that way, but he was the first, and she wasn't about to let that spark that he gave her go away.

Plus, the night that he took her out to dinner and asked her to be his girlfriend, Kagome forgot to even clean her room before she went to bed. She fell asleep like anyone else would, and she dreamed for the first time in her life.

Suddenly the power flicked off and on again. Kagome sighed heavily and removed the empty cereal bar wrapper from her comforter and onto the floor. She watched it for three hours, waiting for sleep to come. But after the fourth hour she was fed up, and jumped out of bed. She picked up the wrapper and threw it in the trash angrily. When the wrapper was squared away in the garbage can, she climbed back into bed.

The minute her head hit the pillow, she was asleep.

* * *

OK just a note, I do not, nor ever have, worked at a theme park, or a cinema so I don't know how things work, and I am not a professional at how that stuff works. If you DO work at either, do not be offended by my attempt to make it seem realistic. And I don't recommend you going to such places to get a job, expecting it to be anything like this. It's a fictional story, ok? 

Also, no I did not specify when Kagome was drifting in and out of her flashbacks, because I felt that it flowed in a way to where one could pick it out. If you are confused by this, please review and tell me so thatI can work on this.So don't hate me!

Anyway, please review, I will greatly appreciate it, since I worked so hard to get this story to be great!

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

**REI'S CORNER: **Howdy! I'm back with another chapter of YMPK! I really hope you all enjoyed the first chapter! Thanks to those of you that reviewed with your compliments. I appreciate it greatly!

Now, I'm letting you all know that I have big plans for this story, and unlike _some_ of my other fics cough Walk Behind Me cough I have a pretty good idea of what I'm doing with this and where I'm going. Well, I don't exactly have this all planned out, yes I am writing this as I go along, but I feel that this fic has max potential and I'm not letting that go! DETERMINATION FACE!

NOTE: I UPDATED A DAY EARLY BECAUSE IT IS SUMMER TIME AND SOME PEOPLE LOSE TRACK OF WHAT DAY IT IS. sorry about that...lol (Ron: loser.)

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inuyasha.

CLAIMER: The character known as Willow is MY character! I created him last year while drawing pictures, and I take all credit for him! Please do not use him in any of your stories or anything else like that, without coming to get my permission first! If you do, I'm afraid that I will have to report you. Because it wouldn't be fair to use my character that I created for yourself and not let others know that I invented him in the first place! So there! (Ron: In case you haven't picked up on it yet, she's practically in love with her own character...her own NON-existing character! . dork.)

Whew. Anyway. So here's the next chapter.

Chapter Two

It was Monday morning. Kagome had just come out of the shower and was in the process of making herself some coffee. She was very tired. It was nine o'clock in the morning, and she only got about four hours of sleep.

But today she could not sleep in. (Not that she ever did in the first place.) Today was the day that she would get her new work schedule at 'Terre'. She was a bit anxious to get the phone call. She had no idea what it would be like to clean such a large area. It was almost overwhelming. She almost regretted going for a theme park, yet when she thought about the peace she would have in her mind, and the lack of human contact, she felt assured that she'd done the right thing. She smiled.

It was now 9:45 AM.

And the phone started to ring.

Kagome eagerly jumped from her spot at the kitchen table and picked up the telephone for the first time.

"Is this the Higurashi residence?"a gentle voice asked.

"Yes, this is." Kagome replied nervously.

"This is the secretary of Mr. Montoya, the owner of 'Terre' the theme park. We are calling to inform Kagome Higurashi of her new work schedule."

"This is Kagome Higurashi." Kagome insisted.

"Yes, well your new position is to start today at noon. We are sorry for the short notice, but Mr. Montoya has run short on staff in your department, and we need to get you trained as soon as possible. Is this a problem for you Ms. Higurashi?"

'Is she reading that!' Kagome thought to herself, wondering how the other woman could sound so robotic.

"Oh! No, that's not a problem at all. Thank You very much for calling."

"Thank you. We are looking forward to seeing you in a couple of hours. Oh and please be sure to bring a bottle of water. We here at 'Terre' care about the health and safety of our staff. Welcome to the family!"

And with that said, the line cleared. Kagome returned the phone to its cradle, and ran to get ready for work. Depending on the traffic, it could take up to three hours to drive to the park from where she lived! She didn't have time to fool around with breakfast. After grabbing her keys and the recommended bottle of water, Kagome ran out to her car and sped off onto the highway.

* * *

Kagome arrived at the underground staff parking lot at 11:29. She was grateful for leaving early due to the heavy traffic that hit her on the way there. It was summer time, so everyone was taking their vacation, going to the beach, visiting their relatives, etcetera. 

It was amazing how fast the system was at 'Terre'. She hadn't expected the security to have her name, and a parking spot for her so soon. And she got a really good parking space at that. It was right next to the elevator entrance that led to the staff house, where all the workers entered at the start of their shift, for uniform changing and equipment. This job might not be so bad after all. Not bad at all.

She didn't know where to go upon arriving at the staff house, so she found a seat in one of the lounges and waited for someone to come in. She was, after all, early.

At 11:55 Mr. Montoya himself walked through the door, accompanied by a tall, good-looking man with long, dark blue hair.

As soon as he caught sight of her, sitting all by herself in the large room patiently, a surprised look crossed his face. He turned to the other man, grinning.

"And early too. I had a good feeling about this one."

The blue-haired man only turned and let out a small chuckle as they approached Kagome.

"Ms. Higurashi, my dear, it's lovely to see you again."

"Likewise, sir." she told him.

Mr. Montoya then stretched his arm and took her hand into a friendly handshake.

"This would be the first time in a long time that I've seen someone in your department show up on time- early at that. I'll be sure to keep that in mind when it comes to pay day."

Kagome felt a shade of red brush over her as he said that. Mr. Montoya and the other man chuckled as they saw this.

Releasing Kagome's hand, Mr. Montoya turned to the man with blue hair.

"This dashing fellow that I have here with me today is Willow. He'll be your buddy for the next few days. He's the manager of your department and will be doing his best to make your experience here a good one."

The man, now known as Willow, took her hand in his. "Yes, and any questions that you may have, come to me always. I'll make sure you get off to a good start."

Kagome nodded and shook his hand. 'They're all so nice to me...'

"Well here is your portfolio, with all of your shift and paycheck information on it. Willow here is going to show you around for a bit." Mr. Montoya said as he handed her a manilla folder. "Please feel right at home, and if you ever have any problems, come to my office, my door is always open."

Kagome thanked him, and then he retreated through the door he entered, leaving Kagome and Willow alone. Kagome looked up at him and he smiled at her.

"Well I guess we should get started then." he said, grinning.

Willow first showed her around the staff house, pointing out the kitchens and lounge spots. Kagome learned that there was a game room in the basement, where the whole staff met on Friday night to socialize. From there, Willow led her to the locker room/changing area and handed her an ID card and a key.

"Your base uniform is in your locker already, it shouldn't be that hard to find. If you have any trouble with the lock, ask any of the women in there to help you. I'll give you five minutes to change, then meet me out front we'll take it from there. Put your water in your locker, don't worry, you'll be doing light work today. You won't really need it. The office just tells everyone to bring one because of health regulations. Okay?"

Kagome nodded and walked through the white doors. The locker room was pretty big. She wondered if she would have to clean it at some point.

She found her locker in a matter of seconds. Hers was a bright pink rectangle at the end of the second row of lockers.

When she opened it, Kagome was surprised to find it already stocked with work-related, and some non-work-related materials.

First, she pulled out her uniform. It wasn't anything out of the norm. They were purple shorts and a t-shirt that had the 'Terre' logo on it. She changed, finding a snug fit with the shorts, and the t-shirt was a little big, but it was very comfortable. She wondered how they knew her size.

After changing, Kagome picked up a black cosmetics bag with a small key on the zipper and a note on top.

_Kagome Higurashi,_

_Here is your key to the costume building. We hope your base uniform fits. If not, please do not hesitate to tell the manager. Everything that you may need is in this bag, and if we have forgotten anything, we would be more than happy to get it for you. Thank you for joining our staff. Welcome aboard._

_Terre Staff_

Kagome was confused. She opened the black bag and gasped as she found literally about five pounds of make up and cosmetics in the bag. What was all the make up for? And why did she only receive a key to the costume building? She should have gotten a big key ring with hundreds of keys for all the buildings, shouldn't she have? 'It must be a mistake.' She thought to herself.

When she met up with Willow at the front lobby of the staff house, he grinned and nodded at her.

"The base uniform fits. That's great." he said. Kagome looked at him in confusion.

"Why do you keep calling it a 'base' uniform?"

Willow raised an eyebrow. "It's what you wear when you aren't working. And it's your base, meaning you start with that and everything else goes on top of it..."

This only brought on more confusion.

"Haven't you done this before?" he asked.

Kagome shook her head. "Not really. I only worked at a movie theater once."

Now Willow shared the same confused look as Kagome had.

"You mean to tell me that Mr. Montoya hired a complete amateur?"

"Well I did really well at the theater, and I worked with my mother when I was younger." Kagome defended.

"...Doing what?"

"Cleaning houses."

Willow looked at Kagome as if she were crazy. 'Well if he thinks she's that good I can't say a thing. He hired her after all.' he thought.

"Ok...well I guess we should go find you a costume..." he stated.

"For what?" she asked.

Willow was starting to get a little annoyed. "To get you started for the day."

Kagome stopped him from going any further. "Okay, obviously something's up. I have no idea what you are talking about, you're acting like I'm slow in the head, and I am currently holding a 100-pound bag full of make up and I have no idea why. Where are all of the brooms? The mops? The rags and dust pans? What's going on?"

"...What?" he asked.

Frustrated, Kagome pulled out her portfolio and started reading the contents inside, searching for an answer to this madness. With every word she read, Willow noticed her facial expression drop, more and more until she finished.

"Oh no..." she murmured gently.

"What's wrong?" Willow asked.

"There must be some mistake...e-entertainment? No! I only wanted to work on the janitorial staff!" she yelled.

Willow looked shocked. "How did that happen?"

"I have no clue. What do I do?"

"Well you definitely have to go see Mr. Montoya and get it changed. You can't just start cleaning stuff on your own, it'll mess with the system."

Kagome sighed. 'No wonder they were being so nice to me.'

"Well I'll go over there. Thanks. It was nice meeting you Willow.

Willow smiled sympathetically at her. "As it was you, Kagome."

* * *

"I'm sorry, but Mr. Montoya is busy in a meeting." 

Kagome sighed. 'My door is always open...my ass.'

"Well could you tell me what to do about my problem?"she asked.

The secretary looked up at her. "Hm. You could stay where you are...you _do _realize that the entertainment department makes the most money, aside from management, right?"

"But I can't **do** that! I don't know the first thing ab-"

"Mr. Montoya doesn't know that. No one knows unless you tell them."

"But-"

"Hey, it's up to you. But if it were up to me, I'd keep the position."

Kagome sighed and looked down.

"Exactly. That's what I thought." the secretary said, then picked up the phone and dialed an extension number.

"Hello? Yes, this is the maker's office. I have a Ms. Kagome Higurashi here who would like for you to come give her something to do." Pause. "I know. Thank you Willow." then she hung up.

"Willow will meet you just outside in two minutes." she said to Kagome.

Kagome looked up, shocked. "What! No, wait, I didn't mean-"

"Have a great day!" the secretary shouted, and then the phone started ringing.

Kagome sighed as the secretary ignored her, picking up the phone. She walked out of the office, defeated.

When she reached outside, Willow was waiting for her.

"You have _a lot_ of work cut out for you." he said.

"But I've never done this before...I can't..."

"I won't tell anyone. Besides, you've got me to help you out." he smiled and winked at her.

Kagome sighed, thoroughly frustrated.

"Well, shall we continue from where we left off?"

With that, he took up a steady pace in the direction of the costume building with Kagome in tow.

"Don't worry, everything will be okay." he told her.

"I hope." she muttered.

* * *

Well there you have it! Hope you enjoyed chapeter two! I am very excited to be getting these chapters out like this because I really love this fic. HEHE it's like a child to me... 

BOY GEE, that sectretary lady sure is sneaky, eh? Maybe she has her own agenda,hm? Guess you'll have to wait and see!

Anyway. Review please! And let me know of any questions that you might have on this fic or anything else. See you again next week!


	3. Chapter 3

– 7/27/06- I ONLY EDITED SOME AND REMOVED SOME GRAMMATICAL ERRORS! THERE'S MOST LIKELY STILL SOME LURKING IN THERE SOMEWHERE, BUT I CHANGED WHAT I COULD FIND! THANKS TO KATYACHEKOV FOR POINTING IT OUT TO ME! MY PAL!

REI'S CORNER: Hi again! I'm not really going to stall this time with anything, I'll just give the chapter. I don't really have anything to say anyway.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, or any of the characters. Otherwise, I wouldn't be writing fan fiction.

Chapter Three

"It fits!" Kagome called from the dressing area.

"Good. Come out here so we can figure out what to do with you."

Kagome walked through the door and looked Willow in the eye.

"It fits." she repeated.

When they arrived at the costume building an hour ago, Kagome didn't know what to expect. She blushed when Willow ordered her to remove her shirt for measurements. She was embarrassed, but she did it any way. Willow didn't seem to care much; Kagome figured he did it often.

He first had her try on dresses. Green dresses, red dresses, purple dresses, black dresses. They were all different kinds of dresses though. Some were big and poofy, some were short, and some had huge hoop-skirts that she was required to wear a girdle-vest with, to present an older, western look she guessed.

Kagome didn't even have time to be overwhelmed, as he soon had her trying on character costumes. Most of them were way too big for her, and she could tell that Willow was becoming frustrated. But now, the current character costume she was wearing, Wise the owl, fit and Willow wore a look of relief on his face.

"Mr. Montoya wanted me to start you off in walk-around. Here, put on the head." Kagome obeyed and slipped the huge head on.

"Walk-around?" she asked.

"Yeah. You know, it's when you walk around the park dressed as a character, and hug kids and all that."

"Oh." was all she said.

"Can you feel that?" Willow asked back.

"Feel wh--" Kagome was cut short when she felt a cool breeze hit her face. She shivered a little.

"It's a battery powered super fan. Whenever the temperature gets too high, reach into the ear of the head and turn it on. But don't keep it on all day; the batteries aren't cheap, and you could blow the motor." Willow said as he turned off the fan and helped her pull of the enormous head.

"We'll start you off at two," he looked at his watch, "and at six I want you to meet me back at the staff house so that I can take you over to the East Stage."

"What's going on in the East Stage?"

"Midoriko's show."

Kagome raised an eyebrow. Midoriko was known as the fairy tale princess who fell in love with a demon. She was supposed to be a beauty, whom never went wrong, aside from falling in love with the demon. She remembered some of the story from what her mother told her when she was little; but the rest was still unclear.

"We put on shows every half an hour." Willow stated before grabbing her arm and pushing her back in the changing room. "We've run out of staff to play the parts, and this is where you come in."

"M-me? What! I can't ac-"

"Don't worry about any of that right now. Take a fifteen minute break, and then I'll show you around the park. Then you'll be off on your own for a few hours."

Kagome was shocked. How could he leave her alone for so long! She had never done this before, and she had to start doing all this alone? **Today?** She'd at least hoped that someone would let her observe for a day and _then_ start. Or at least have someone walk around with her.

"Oh yeah, don't forget that you take ten minute breaks every fifty minutes, and an hour break at four. Just be sure to come here and put the costume away before you go do anything, okay?"

Kagome said nothing as she started to remove herself from the brown, furry outfit.

"Any questions?" Willow asked through the door.

'Hell yeah!' Kagome's mind screamed.

* * *

--3:30 PM– 

"And one, two...smile honey!" A young woman called from a few feet away.

After the camera flashed twice, the little boy jumped off of Kagome's lap, then gave her a hug and ran off with his mother.

Inside the owl suit, Kagome felt her feet going numb from all of the walking she'd done, and she still had another half hour before her hour-long lunch break.

But the whole thing overall wasn't so bad after all. Aside from the heat, and all of the walking, Kagome began to feel reassured that she could actually do this. The kids really adored her; well they adored Wise the Owl, that is. It was amazing how much power one could hold in a furry brown costume.

As Kagome thought on this, she was walking toward a new area that she hadn't been to yet. There was a big ride over in that direction and she figured that there would be more kids over there.

Just as she was walking towards the ride, she spotted an empty plastic bottle lying on the ground. Then, looking closer, she noticed napkins scattered across the ground about two feet away from it.

Her feet stopped moving, and through the large eyes of the owl suit, Kagome stared at the litter. Something came over her, and she felt a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.

'Pick it up!' her mind screamed.

And before she realized what she was doing, she was bending down to get the trash. Of course it was at that very moment that a little boy looked over and saw her. He yanked on his mother's shirt and yelled out, "Mommy, mommy! What is Wise doing!"

Kagome got distracted in that brief moment, and she felt herself losing her balance. The owl head was about to wobble and slip off of her head. 'Oh no!'

But before it could, she felt it being pushed hard against her shoulders, and she was pushed back into an upright position.

There was a nervous chuckle from the person in front of her.

"Um. Wise the Owl says, 'Give a hoot, don't pollute!'"

And with that, Kagome felt herself being dragged by the other person, back toward the costume building. She felt a sigh escape her in relief of the person being there.

* * *

Ten minutes later, when they arrived at the costume building, the person who'd led her there grumbled out some unrecognizable word and drew out a large key ring and opened the door for her. 

Once inside, he threw the keys on a nearby couch and took a seat. Kagome stood against a wall looking up at the ceiling, trying to decide what to say. Or do.

"There's a reason why we don't bend down to pick up trash when we're wearing big ass costume heads." the man grumbled out. "I mean it's nice of you to wanna help make the world a better place and all of that, but the minute that owl head comes off, and some group of kids see you, everything's shot to hell."

Kagome couldn't say anything to the strange man. She could only stand there in her owl suit, and feel guilty. Not to mention she still felt bad because she never finished the job of cleaning that trash away.

The man laughed and stood to hold his hand out to her. "New guy, right? I'm Inuyasha." he said.

She shook his hand, even though hers was covered in furry wing. When she pulled her hand back, she turned her head and saw the clock. It was four in the afternoon. She was now officially on her lunch break.

She turned her back to the man named Inuyasha and pulled off the giant owl head. The head was pretty heavy in her arms, so she didn't hesitate to put it with the other unused costume heads on the head rack a few feet away. Then, while she was at it, she removed the whole suit altogether, stretching her now free body around in her base uniform.

When she turned back around, the Inuyasha guy was staring at her. She gave him a 'what?' look, and he grunted, turning his gaze elsewhere.

"Why were you bothering with that trash anyway?" he asked.

Kagome shrugged.

"You do realize that people get paid to do that so you don't have to, right?"

Kagome shrugged again.

Inuyasha had a scowl on his face, and was about to say something else before they were interrupted by the door opening, and familiar blue hair poking through it. The words on Inuyasha's tongue died as Willow smiled and entered the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Hey there, Kagome. How's it working out? Feelin' okay?"

Kagome nodded, and Willow moved around the room and retrieved a bottle of water from the mini-fridge in the corner.

"Hey, Inuyasha." he said. Inuyasha nodded his acknowledgment before turning back to Kagome.

"Well I'd better go...You be careful with that suit. They aint exactly from the dollar store, ya know." he scowled before he disappeared through the door.

Willow through her a curious glance, and she returned it with a shrug.

* * *

At six o'clock the number of people had risen by the hundreds, as the heat went down. Kagome had successfully completed her walk-around. (Without any further embarrassment.) 

She felt good after finishing that part of her shift. The kids loved her, with the exception of a few Johnny's and Betty Sue's. Plus, in only one day, she'd learned where everything was for the most part. For a little while, she almost felt happy that Mr. Montoya screwed up.

Well, until Willow led her over to the East Stage.

He led her backstage as various people ran around, looking for costume pieces, and microphones.

"They're always like this?" Kagome asked.

Willow chuckled and nodded.

"You aren't doing anything tonight, so I'll tell you a few things about this particular show, and then you can go and watch. I have to stay and get into costume– I'm in the show."

Kagome nodded and he went on.

"Midoriko's Tale is only performed in the summer, when we have the highest amount of costumers. It's very popular. Of course, I assume you know the story..."

Kagome nodded.

"Good. Well we've adapted the tale and added a few parts. It's actually a pretty interesting story. After seeing the success of this show, Mr. Montoya is having a team of writers and directors come up with another show based off of this one."

"Like a sequel?" Kagome asked.

"Yup. Now about the actual performance...Only about thirty-three people can be on the stage at one time with all the props, So we've cut the show into four acts; each has three or less scenes, with a five minute intermission."

He stopped to take a breath, and then pointed above them.

"Up there in that box is where pretty much everything happens. All the music, voice-overs, light cues, everything is controlled up there."

Kagome got confused. "What do you mean voice-over?"

"There's a pre-recorded narrator voice that tells the story, and also a little bit of character voices that add effect. Like the entire audio of the story was pre-recorded by voice actors. It really helps out the staff. There's no need for memorizing a script, or anything like that. And since the stage is a good distance from the audience, we don't even really have to lip-sync that much Only in a few places to intensify the scene."

'What a relief.' Kagome thought.

"But anyway, we still wear microphones to make it look real, and in some parts of the show, we really do speak to the audience. You know, to hype them up. So if you're ever having problems with your microphone and I'm not around, go up there."

"Okay." Kagome said.

"It looks like we're getting ready to start. You'd better go find a seat. Stay put afterwards, I'll come and get you."

Kagome nodded and left the stage to go find a seat. She found one with a great view of the stage, next to a small family of four.

As the curtain drew, Kagome held her breath in wonder with what part she would have to play.

* * *

The little children that surrounded Kagome screamed and cheered as a sword fight between Willow and someone else who was dressed in armor. 

At first Kagome could barely recognize Willow. He was playing the role of the demon whom was in love with Midoriko. It was a good part for him, Kagome noted, and he seemed to enjoy playing it. In this particular scene, He was suited in battle armor. From where she was sitting, Kagome noticed that he had fake fangs to go along with his part. His make up was very pale, making him look almost vampire-like. The only thing that gave him away was his hair.

The sound effects were outrageous. At one point, Kagome had to cover her ears because it got so loud. The show was exciting, indeed. The only thing that Kagome didn't love about the show was that sooner or later, she would have to be in it.

* * *

"Thank you, everyone, for coming to visit us at 'Terre'. Remember, all you have to do to get what you want is believe. Then you can do anything." the performer designated as Midoriko said into her microphone. Shortly after that, every performer on stage waved at the audience as the curtain fell. 

Kagome sighed and watched all the people leave the area either to continue to enjoy themselves at the park, or go home.

She waited for ten minutes, watching the sun slowly disappear from the day sky. The day was finally ending. She wouldn't really complain, since she had a good first day. Her only problem she had with it was that her feet were aching. Time could cure that.

"How'd you like it?" Willow asked from behind her, snapping her out of her daze.

Kagome jumped. "It was g-great." she said.

"That's good. When we get you in there, you'll see, it's actually kind of fun."

"...Yeah. Speaking of which, what part will I have?"

Willow thought about it for a moment.

"Well, we have to start small and make baby steps up...so I'm guessing we'll just put you on as a town's person at first. Of course, you still have to learn the waltz sequence for the ball scene. Everyone in the show goes on then."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, lack of performers."

Kagome nodded and Willow smiled. "But who knows, maybe someday soon you might even get to be the princess, Midoriko I mean."

Kagome looked away, muttering about how un-funny he was. Willow's only response was a friendly laugh. He looked at his watch.

"Well technically you're done for the day. Lets head on over to the staff house so you can change."

Kagome followed him to the staff house, where she changed back into her regular clothes and put everything else away in her locker. When she came out, Willow was waiting for her. She noticed that he had changed also; he was now sporting jeans and a t-shirt.

"See? Today wasn't so bad now was it?" he asked her.

Kagome smiled in reply. "So now what?"

"A bunch of us stick around and have dinner together upstairs in the commons. What do you say?"

Kagome thought about it then replied, "No, that's okay. I have a lot of errands to run when I get home." she didn't bother telling him that home was two hours away, and there was no doubt that traffic was piling up.

"Alrighty then. See you tomorrow, bright and early."

Kagome nodded and headed for the elevator.

While in the elevator, Kagome noticed the walls were mirror-like, and she could see her reflection from three different angles. She noticed a certain glow in her cheeks.

'Hmm. Must be the heat.' she thought.

Then the elevator dinged and she got out, went to her car, and made the long journey home. Safely.

* * *

Thank You all that have been reviewing. I know that this chapter may seem a little long, and too detailed, but I did that on purpose! Lol. I know some of you are eager to see Inu step up and just sweep Kags off her feet at any moment, but would that be any fun to just all of sudden rush it like that? Then you would miss out on the drama that's to come. Plus, it would just be another one of those fics where they get together like that. I want action! I want drama! PLEASE SAY YOU WANT THAT TOO! 

So I hope you are enjoying it, and I hope you continue to read. They might all be a little long, but I'm sure that this might be the only lengthy, not necessary-detailed chapter. (Ron: Makin no sense.) Anyway, please review!


	4. Chapter 4

**REI'S CORNER: **Hidy Hoo! I'm having a fun time reading all of your reviews that are coming to me! You are all so very nice!! Just a few quick responses and I'll get going with the story.

Just answering a few questions.

**David**: Of course I'll be making other stories! :) It's what I love to do and it's fun to use my imagination to come up with twists and turns and...well you get the point haha. Thanks for asking, and liking my story, and I actually have other stories already up. Just in case you were wondering. You can always go to my profile and check out what I have done. Or not. Whatever you want to do. Thanks!

**Anyone wondering about Sango and Miroku**: If you're wondering whether I'll put them in the story, and if I'll have some romance going on between them, I'm thinking about it. If I do put them in, they will most likely already be together, saves time, plus some people don't really like side stories, then just like to read about the main characters of the fic. I'll see where my imagination takes me! Stay tuned.

Well I guess that's all I need to answer!

DISCLAIMER: Don't own the characters, do own Willow. I don't work at theme parks, so anything I say about how they run, comes out of my imagination. I have not stolen any plans or ideas from any them park. If you own a theme park, and you notice that something is true about what I say, you probably should not make it so obvious that I would figure out how it works. Like I said, I'm using my imagination.

Chapter Four

Kagome pulled the owl head off and took off her suit. Grinning as she hung everything away, she noticed how well she was getting accustomed to her new job.

For the most part, after a rocky start, everything was smoothing out well. All week she'd gotten use to the rising heat. After it hit 100 degrees, she started to use the fan, but she didn't have to work a long time in the heat anyway. There weren't many customers. The little amount that there was preferred to use the indoor attractions.

Midoriko's show was also turning out to be okay. All week Willow just had her helping out around the stage, and watching the show from behind the curtains. Of course she dreaded the thought of actually performing. Willow never mentioned it after the first day, however, and she hoped that it meant she wouldn't have to perform ever. Maybe Willow sensed her distress. She prayed that was the reason.

Kagome pulled her wallet out of her shirt pocket and headed outside to get a frozen lemonade from a near-by stand. That was another thing that she liked about her job.

For some apparent reason that she didn't understand, being an employee entitles a fresh, frozen lemonade waiting for you always. Even if the stand claims that they're out, just flash your staff ID card, and suddenly they've re-stocked.

Kagome paid for her drink and went to sit down. She found a place at a picnic table next to a roller coaster. As the ride whooshed by, Kagome smiled at the slight breeze, sipping at the lemonade.

"Hey. You're in my seat." came from behind her.

Kagome turned and came face to face with a white-haired man. She blushed and stood up, immediately apologizing.

"It's fine. I just thought that you'd be somewhere else, collecting garbage about now..." he trailed off.

Kagome frowned. "You're never going to let that go, are you?"

He shook his head. "Nope. So what are you doing over here?"

"I'm on my lunch break."

"Ah," he said, looking down at her half-melted drink, " Some lunch."

Kagome shrugged.

"How long are you off for?" Inuyasha asked.

"I have around forty minutes left."

Inuyasha nodded and ran over to the vending machines across from them. He came back with a bag of chips and a soda. When he sat down, Kagome scooted over a little bit; Inuyasha didn't notice.

"So what's your name again?"

"Kagome."

"Right. Kagome. So how's your first week going?"

"It's alright. It's getting really hot though."

Inuyasha nodded, and they continued to converse about their day. Kagome came up with a good question.

"By the way...what is it that you do exactly?" she asked.

"What?"

"What do you do? As in your job, I mean."

"Oh." he thought for a minute, chewing on his potato chips. "I guess you could say that I'm like the mechanic. I make sure all the rides are working, and I fix all the problems...I run them when I feel like it."

"Oh." Kagome replied.

"It's not that boring." Inuyasha defended.

"What? I didn't mean..."

"That's not _all_ I do anyway. My job is more important than anyone else's here. Without me, there would be no Terre."

Kagome's eye brightened up, thinking back to the large ring of keys he had when they met.

"You're a janitor too?" she asked.

Inuyasha looked at her like she was crazy.

"No. Hell no. Like I'd have the patience."

"Oh...what then?"

"I--"

Inuyasha didn't get to finish as a tall man came running up to them shouting Inuyasha's name.

"What? I'm on my lunch break." he said.

"Yeah. Sorry. But it's jammed again. I tried doing what you told me to do last time but now it's making funny noises. And there's a weird smell. And the customers are getting angry."

"Damn."

Kagome looked at Inuyasha, confused. She wondered what happened.

Inuyasha stood and tossed out his empty garbage. "Gotta run. Talk to you later, Kagome."

Then he and the other man took off in the direction of the problem.

Kagome shrugged and threw away here empty cup.

* * *

"Willow!" Kagome called from her spot backstage.

The said man turned around, looking for the source of the voice. When he found her, he grinned and started shoving through the crowd. This action caused several of the woman in the crowd to giggle and whisper to each other. Kagome blushed.

"Hey."

"You were all great tonight. I brought you some water."

Willow thanked her and chugged down the water. Tonight's performance was probably the hardest they ever had to perform, due to the heat.

Kagome wasn't allowed to stay backstage during the show this time, because some of the performers began to fall ill during the course of the show, and the first aid assistants needed all the space that they could get. Kagome had to sit out in the sun with everyone else. Not that she minded too much. She'd rather sit in the hot seats in her shorts, than have to run around stage in an overheated costume.

"Tonight's Friday." Willow piped in.

"Yes, I know." Kagome giggled.

"Are staying for the Friday night thing?" he asked.

Kagome thought about it. She'd just remembered him saying something about social gatherings on Friday nights.

"I really wasn't thinking about it."

"You should. It'll be fun. You can meet folks."

"I don't know…"

"Just stay. I promise it'll be fun."

Kagome looked down, cursing him for being so persistent. "Okay…"

"Cool. You won't be sorry."

"Yeah. I hope so." Kagome mumbled.

* * *

Kagome watched from afar as Willow picked up some random girl and ran into the pool with her. Everyone seemed to be having fun. Well, everyone except for her.

Of course, it all looked fun, but facing the truth, Kagome just didn't do well with meeting new people.

'Maybe I should just go.' she thought.

Stepping out of the Employees' Mansion, as she'd come to call it, Kagome looked around the empty theme park. It was really pretty at night, when all of the lights were left on. Deciding to take a little walk, Kagome headed off on her usual rounds around the park as Wise the Owl.

She got a good look at all the attractions that she usually passed by while being bombarded with little kids and their parents. She had no idea that Terre had some of the stuff that it did! If she was the fun-having type of person, Kagome sweared she would have to come back on a day off just to ride the rides and see all of the shows; and if she had lots of money to flush down the toilet, she would play the games too.

"But I'm not that type of person," Kagome whispered as she came up to the East Stage.

She was curious to see what was happening at the East Stage after-hours. There still seemed to be some life meddling around the building. Lights were still on and moving about, and she heard music playing from the back. It seemed as thought they were preparing for another show.

Curiosity got the better of Kagome, and she walked slowly to the backstage area to see what was going on. When she got there, she didn't see anyone, but she followed the music to a studio-looking room. The door was made of glass, so she could see inside.

A woman that appeared to be around Kagome's age was inside, dancing and mouthing the words to the song. She was very pretty. She had long, brown hair that reached her shoulders, and tanned skin. Her eyes were green, but Kagome could tell even from afar that they were contact lenses. Kagome was fascinated at how the woman danced. She recognized the moves as the long dance sequence that Midoriko does near the end of the show. But for some reason, the way this woman did the moves was so much more amazing.

"She's great, isn't she?"

Kagome yelped and jumped back away from her view of the woman, frightened. It's was that guy from before.

"Oh my gosh, you scared me!" she said, trying to catch her breath, "What are you doing here, um…"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "It's Inuyasha. And I happen to work here. The question is: What are **you** doing here?"

Kagome nervously looked around the area. "Um, I was just uh…"

The music stopped and the womn popped her head out of the door.

"What's going on?" she asked quietly.

Kagome blushed slightly, while Inuyasha looked at his feet.

"Who are you?" she asked, looking at Kagome.

"Um, my name's Kagome. Kagome Higurashi. I was just, uh, leaving…"

She turned to leave.

"Wait! I have to talk to you." the woman said.

"Me?"

The woman temporarily ignored her and turned to Inuyasha.

"Is it that hard to be polite to someone? Look! You scared the poor girl!"

Inuyasha's eyes widened, "What? I did not!"

"Childish. Come with me Kagome. We would have met a lot sooner had _someone_ been doing their job."

Inuyasha blinked as his cheeks turned red.

"Hey, wench, what are you getting at? I don't even know this girl. She's Willow's responsibility, you chalk it up with him. He's the one that was supposed to introduce you. Not me." he ranted.

"Whatever, Inuyasha," the woman called as she shut the studio door in his face. "Okay, now. It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Kikyo."

Kagome looked confused while shook hands.

"I was supposed to get you as soon as you started, but you know how men are," she joked.

"Yeah…um. I'm a bit confused. Why am I here?"

"Oh! Willow didn't tell you? I choreograph all the dances in Midoriko's show. Well there are only two that you would need to learn…" she trailed off. Kagome's mind went blank.

"Um, I can't--"

"I know, don't worry. I'll teach you. I just find it so interesting that we meet now. What exactly _were_ you doing here so late?"

"Oh, I was just looking around. And I saw you dancing. And then Inuyasha scared me and…."

Kikyo started laughing, "Okay, I see. Well just so you know, Inuyasha doesn't let anyone back here this late."

Kagome blinked, confused again.

"I practice moves here sometimes, and he's okay with that. I really have no idea what he does up there," she pointed upward, "but it must be pretty scandalous," she chuckled, "some people say that's where he does his drug dealing."

"Um…" Kagome mumbled, unsure of what to say to that. Kikyo laughed harder at her reaction.

"I'm joking. Anyway it's nice to finally meet you, Kagome. I wonder, can you meet me here after work tomorrow? I want to get you started as soon as possible."

"I, well,--" Kagome started.

"Okay, great. We have rehearsals on Sunday mornings at eight. You should stop by and watch until we can teach you all the moves."

"Oh…okay…" Kagome started for the door.

"And Kagome?" Kikyo called after her.

"Yeah?"

"Tomorrow. Bring a towel, and some water. You'll need it. Lots of it."

Kikyo smiled brightly as Kagome gulped and high-tailed it out of the room.

"Seeya tomorrow!" Kikyo yelled.

* * *

SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT! It's been what? Years? I just was looking around today and noticed that this chapter wasn't finished, and I wasn't busy, so I finished it! I hope that you like it. The story is finally starting to get interesting, so I think I MIGHT have more encouragement to write more chapters. But please keep in mind the whole freshman year in college thing! I promise I will try hard to get new chapters out!


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